Cotton roll holder and lip retractor

ABSTRACT

A device adjustably fitted on the head of a dental patient includes rigid lip engaging elements hooked into the corners of the lips to retract them. Holder extensions on the lip engaging elements retain cotton rolls internally of the mouth between the cheeks and the upper arch.

' United States Patent Cotten COTTON ROLL HOLDER AND LIP RETRACTOR [76]Inventor: Bennett D. Cotten, 606 Baldwin Drive, Albany, Ga. 31705 22Filed: Mar. 12, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 450,451

[52] US. Cl. 128/12 [51] Int. Cl. A618 l/00 [58] Field of Search 128/12,20; 32/34, 35, 32/40, 40 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS744,204 11/1903 Jordan 128/20 2,914,852 l2/1959 Fridge, Sr. 32/35 [451Nov. 4, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 241,532 7/1946 Switzerland128/12 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-Henry S.Layton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson[57] ABSTRACT A device adjustably fitted on the head of a dental patientincludes rigid lip engaging elements hooked into the corners of the lipsto retract them. Holder extensions on the lip engaging elements retaincotton rolls internally of the mouth between the cheeks and the upperarch.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures I US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 23,916,879

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,916,879

cont: ROLL I-IQLDER DLIP' RETRAcfr'oR 1,168,574.- Such prior art-devicesare very awkward and considering the benefits'possibl therefrom for thedentist, do .not appear to be'wor'th the discomfort caused the patient.One particular disadvantage in utilizing such prior art devices is theproblem of absorbing saliva in the upper arch portion of themouth inviewof the effect of the lip retractorson the muscles of the check thatare'normally relied upon to hold'absorbant cotton rolls in place. It is,therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide amore comfortable lip retracting device which will avoid theaforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices.

In accordance with the present invention, rigid hook elements engagingthe corners of the lips are held in place and retracting forces appliedby means of a flexible head encircling assembly of elastic straps andhead and facial contacting pads that are adjustable to fit differentpatients. Cotton roll holder extensions project from the hook elementsbetween the cheeks and the upper arch and thereby removably mount cottonrolls internally of the mouth on the buccal side of the upper teeth. Thedevice may be applied to the head of a patient without interferring withthe use of inhalation sedation masks and connulas and facilitates accesto the oral cavity, the teeth and gums for oral examination, diagnosisand surgical purposes.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof,

wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the device of the presentinvention being worn on the head of a patient. FIG. 2 is a frontperspective view of the device alone. FIG. 3 is a sectional view througha rear portion of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section view taken substantiallythrough a plane indicated by section line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the retrator elements associatedwith the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 66 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a transverse section view taken substantially through a planeindicated by section line 77 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of disassembled parts of the device.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates oneembodiment of the present invention generally denoted by referencenumeral 10, applied to the head 12 of a patient. The patient may alsowear an inhalation sedation mask, if desired. The device is operative tohold the lips 16 of the patient retracted and thereby expose the oralcavity including the teeth and gums.

2 more clearly seen in FIG. 2, the device l0 in cludes a' pair of lipengaging retractors 18 made of a rigid, non-tarnishing material such asstainless steel or a suitable synthetic plastic. The retractors areanchored to spaced end portions of a flexible band assembly generallydenoted by reference numeral 20 which is adapted to encircle the head 12of the patient on which the device is fitted. When fitted on thepatient, the retr'actors l8 engage 't he"corners'of the lips 16 as shownin FIG. 1 and apply retracting forces thereto produced by elasticelongation of the band assembly 20. Connected to each retractor 18 is acotton roll holder extension 22 on which an absorbant cotton roll 24 isremovably mounted and retained between the cheeks and the upper archinternally of the mouth on the bucc'al side'of the upper teeth as shown.

The flexible band assembly 20 is adjustable in its undeformedlength andincludes a pair of elastic fabric straps 26. The straps 26 are loopedabout connector loops'28'for adjustment in length by meansof releasablelatch devices 30 of a well known type. The looped ends of the straps areinterconnected by the connectors 28 with a pad holding strap 32 to whicha back positioning pad 34 is secured as by stitching, as more clearlyseen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The pad 34 is'waterproofed by a liquid imperviouscovering 36 enclosing suitable padding 38. The other ends of the elasticstraps 26 are interconnected with the retractors 18 by facial contactingpads 40. The pads 40 are also waterproofed by a liquid impervious cover42 enclosing gauze padding.

Each retractor 18 may be adjustably anchored to one of the facial pads40, by stitching in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8. Anelongated flat connector portion 46 of the retractor projects into anopening 44 formed in the pad for this purpose as more clearly seen inFIG. 8. Other adjustable connections may be utilized, such as a frictionlock. The connector portion 46 is which is positioned by the band 20 andthe pads 40 substantially tangent to the cheeks of the patient as shownin FIG. 1, integral with a curved hook portion 48 that engages the lips.The hook portion 48 has a two dimensional curvature relative to a planeextending through the connector portion 46 parallel to its longitudinalaxis so as to project upwardly at an angle to the connector portion 46as more clearly seen in FIG. 5. The holder extension 22 formedintegrally with the hook portion projects at an appropriate acute angleto the plane of curvature of the hook portion thus and is itselfprovided with a suitable curvature so as to comfortably fit between thecheek and upper arch in the mouth of the patient.

As more clearly seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, each of the holder extensions22 has an opening 50 to form a loop 52 surrounding a pointed prong 54extending from the hook portion 18 in spaced relation to the loop 52.The prong 54 is adapted to longitudinally pierce and thereby hold aconventional cotton roll 24 pressed against the loop 52 in protectiverelation to the holder extension 22. With the retractors l8 properlypositioned on the head by means of the pads 34 and 40 of the bandassembly 20, the cotton rolls 24 will be held in proper position withinthe mouth by the holder extensions 22. The cotton rolls are accordinglyplaced onto the holders 22 before the device is fitted to the patientand may be readily removed from or replaced on the holders.

The device is made of materials throughout that not only avoidirritation of the patients face and head, but are also suitable forsterilization by liquid sterilizers or the like.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A device adapted to be worn on the head of a dental patient,comprising a pair of separate, rigid lip engaging retractors adapted toproject into the mouth of the patient between the cheeks and the upperarch and having flat connector portions, lip engaging h'ook portions andinternal extensions projecting from the hook portions into the mouth, apair of absorbent rolls, holder means mounted on said extensions forretaining the rolls in operative positions between the cheeks and theupper arch, elastic band means connected to the connector portions inencircling relation to the head of the patient for operativelypositioning the connector portions externally on the cheeks when the lipengaging hook portions engage the corners of the mouth, each of saidhook portions having a two-dimensional curvature extending between theflat connector portion and the extension which projects upwardly at anangle to the flat connector portion between the cheek and upper arch.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a pair of facial anchor padsinterconnecting the elastic band means with the lip engaging retractorsto position said connector portions in substantially tangential relationto the cheeks.

1. A device adapted to be worn on the head of a dental patient,comprising a pair of separate, rigid lip engaging retractors adapted toproject into the mouth of the patient between the cheeks and the upperarch and having flat connector portions, lip engaging hook portions andinternal extensions projecting from the hook portions into the mouth, apair of absorbent rolls, holder means mounted on said extensions forretaining the rolls in operative positions between the cheeks and theupper arch, elastic band means connected to the connector portions inencircling relation to the head of the patient for operativelypositioning the connector portions externally on the cheeks when the lipengaging hook portions engage the corners of the mouth, each of saidhook portions having a two-dimensional curvature extending between theflat connector portion and the extension which projects upwardly at anangle to the flat connector portion between the cheek and upper arch. 2.The combination of claim 1 including a pair of facial anchor padsinterconnecting the elastic band means with the lip engaging retractorsto position said connector portions in substantially tangential relationto the cheeks.